OTTAWA — NDP Leader Tom Mulcair says when it comes to rail safety, "the time for excuses is over; now is the time to act."

This week's train derailment in New Brunswick, where a fire continued to burn and area residents were again kept from their homes Thursday, has reignited safety concerns of oil transport by rail.

The use of old DOT 111 cars has been an issue for almost 20 years, specifically for transporting crude oil from the Bakken region of the U.S. midwest, just south of Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Bakken oil has been found to be particularly explosive and experts say DOT 111 cars do not provide the safety features needed.

The Transport Safety Board confirmed DOT 111 cars were involved in the New Brunswick derailment.

In his statement Thursday, Mulcair offered little in the way of solutions, but said there are ways to make rail transport of oil safer — not least of which being a greater role of government in devising and enforcing regulations.

"Companies won't do anything more than what's required by government," Mulcair said, criticizing the self-regulation of industry.

Mulcair declined to comment on whether recent rail accidents have led him to reconsider his opposition to many of the proposed oil pipelines.

Recent research has concluded oil spills from trains are in general much larger than pipeline spills, which are also considered easier to contain.

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